PROBLEM STATEMENT:
With the influx of international finance into the country, the city of Phnom Penh continues to expand and encroach into traditional rural areas. The disadvantaged , homeless and destitute sectors are placed under stress as cheap housing disappears when developers move in. Jobs and incomes are lost as agricultural fields are dissected for development. At best, income is seasonal, with no stready income stream through out the year. Food vulnerability becomes a reality.
The ability of the people of Sen Sok and surrounds to access adequate food, medical care and health education is restricted by their decreasing annual income.T he average annual income is less than $ 80 USD per month and 20% of the population live in poverty ( source 2011- UN Report). The proportion of the population living under the food poverty line is 18% ( 2007 Cambodian Socio Economic Survey).Four million people out of 15.5 million in Cambodia live on less than $1.25 per day. ( July 2014 estimates. UN)
Nationwide, 40% of children under 5 years of age are chronically malnourished and stunted, more than 28% are underweight with 11% acutely malnourished and wasted (source the Cambodian Demographic Health Survey 2010 ).